National Academies Press: OpenBook

Special Safety Concerns of the School Bus Industry (2010)

Chapter: Chapter One - Introduction

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Suggested Citation:"Chapter One - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Special Safety Concerns of the School Bus Industry. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14351.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter One - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Special Safety Concerns of the School Bus Industry. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14351.
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3BACKGROUND Each weekday during the school year, school transportation systems in the United States operate approximately 440,000 yellow school buses to provide safe and reliable transpor- tation for more than 24 million school-aged children (School Bus Informational Council 2008). This large transportation system is considered the largest mass transit program in the nation, with more than 55 million student trips per day (“School Bus Safety Overview” 2008), which equates to approximately 10 billion student trips per year (Pupil Transportation Facts 2008). The annual transportation costs, on average, are $520 per regular education child and $2,400 per special needs education child across the United States (“School Bus Safety Overview” 2008). As with any large transportation system, there is signifi- cant exposure to vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian incidents. Every year, on average, 20 school-aged children (i.e., younger than 19) are fatality injured as the result of school transportation-related incidents (School Transportation- Related Crashes 2006). However, the school transportation system is considered one of the safest forms of transportation (Pupil Transportation Facts 2008), with the National Safety Council reporting an overall school bus accident rate of 0.01 per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled, as compared with 0.04 for trains, 0.06 for commercial aviation, and 0.96 for other passenger vehicles (“School Bus Safety Overview” 2008). At the core of this transportation system are more than 455,000 school bus drivers (Occupational Outlook Hand- book 2007) who are responsible for the safe and effective conveyance of students to and from school, field trips, and athletic events. During these trips, this special class of pro- fessional drivers encounters many unique challenges and safety concerns. In addition to being responsible for perhaps the nation’s most precious cargo, school bus drivers face a wide range of distractions, and are subject to upholding laws and performing many tasks that are well beyond the normal professional driving duties. For instance, school bus drivers must be knowledgeable about school transportation policies and route planning, possess some mechanical aptitude, and be a healthcare provider and disciplinarian to their passen- gers. The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (School Bus Drivers . . . 2000) noted that the demands on school bus drivers have increased in recent years owing to changes in various social conditions. For example, with the increasing popularity of technology use in vehicles (e.g., cell phones, DVD players, and onboard navigational systems), school bus drivers are dealing with an increase in inattentive and distracted motorists. The school bus driver must also manage an increased occurrence of “bullying” and other negative interactions among students. Finally, the security of school bus operations and its riders has become ever more important in today’s world and presents unique challenges for school bus drivers. Even with these unique stressors, school bus drivers con- tinue to perform these duties every school day; however, there is a toll on this transportation system. For years, school bus drivers have been in short supply, with estimates of a 21% annual turnover rate (National School Transportation Associ- ation n.d.). In an October 2007 survey conducted by School Bus Fleet magazine, 89% of the respondents reported experi- encing a school bus driver shortage, with 60% indicating their driver shortages as moderate to desperate (Hirano 2007). To improve the safety and operational conditions of the school transportation system, a better understanding of the pri- mary areas for improvement is needed. As a group, the school bus drivers and the school transportation industry provide the best source for identifying, understanding, and remedying these areas in need of improvement. Therefore, the goal of this work was to gather this information from these different groups and consolidate the findings into one comprehensive report which decision makers can use to address issues and concerns to improve school-related transportation. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE The objective of this synthesis is to document current infor- mation on the various safety issues encountered by school bus operators, including how the issues are currently addressed, barriers to improvements, and suggestions for making further improvements. This synthesis includes a literature review and a peer-reviewed survey on school bus safety issues that was disseminated to a variety of professionals associated with school bus operations. The purpose of the survey was to gain the perspectives and insight of school transportation subject-matter experts regarding school bus safety and security issues. The pri- mary audience for the synthesis study is school bus fleet safety managers, school superintendents, and transporta- tion researchers; however, enforcement agencies, school CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

4bus contractors, school bus manufacturers, and parent orga- nizations may also find this information useful as well. To ensure that all aspects of school bus safety and security are addressed, an adaptation of the Socio-Technical Systems (STS; Emery and Trist 1960) model has guided the concep- tualization and organization of this synthesis report. This adaptation of the STS focuses on four main subsystems asso- ciated with transportation safety (see Figure 1) and how these subsystems interact with and influence one another. These four subsystems are: (1) the driver, (2) the driving environ- ment (e.g., road conditions, passengers, and other drivers), (3) technology/equipment, and (4) organizational design (e.g., policies and regulations). Driver Technology Organizational Design Environment FIGURE 1 Socio-technical systems model (Emery and Trist 1960).

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TRB’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 17: Special Safety Concerns of the School Bus Industry explores various safety issues faced by school bus operators, including how the issues are currently addressed, barriers to improvements, and suggestions for making improvements in the future.

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